Copenhagen update 3 – pessimism grows

For observers at the COP15 conference, things have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. Having barred all non-governmental delegates (which includes parliamentarians, academics, industry, unions, and even most media) from the conference venue, they have now set up an “alternative forum” at which we can watch a video feed from the main plenary, and enjoy free wifi and a hot dog stand.

Here’s what it looks like:

Even with Hillary Clinton as the draw, the place is like a ghost ship:

This comes a day after the arbitrary decision to exclude first some NGOs like Friends of the Earth, and then all non-governmental delegates. You can’t fall into discussion with anyone here without hearing a rant about the abysmal organisation of this conference.

It’s also the general mood here that the chances are dwindling that common ground can be found between the countries which support binding emission targets and those which don’t. Indeed today the rumour that those countries which do support targets will tomorrow launch a proposal for a stand-alone deal between themselves. This would be an act of understandable exasperation, and I’m all for those who want to take action without waiting for the world to catch up. But it would also be a signal of failure for the whole process which has led from the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, and would make a follow-up to Copenhagen even more unlikely.

Of course, many of the positions taken in the final days of a conference like this could be seen as brinkmanship, and the possibility remains that the ‘world leaders’ will want to stage a dramatic rescue for the conference on the final day. It would be a shallow and pathetic ploy, but at this stage it might just be the best we can hope for.

Politics really sucks sometimes. I keep trying to tell myself that our species will ultimately choose not to commit suicide, but sitting here close to the end of a deeply depressing conference I’m finding my natural optimism very hard to justify.

1 Comment

But then again, if we “commit suicide” per se as a species, then there’s a better than average chance that nature will, over the course of about a quarter of a million years, undo most of the damage we’ve done. I know that’s not much of a comfort right now but it’s probably the best anyone can offer under the very trying circumstances…

Comment by Ryan — December 17, 2009 @ 1:53 pm